Italian league leaders Lazio hosted the Sardinian side Cagliari at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday afternoon. Edy Reja’s Biancocelesti had won five out of seven before Pierpaolo Bisoli and his team headed for the capital.
The home team’s excellent form continued but their good first half performance was not matched in the second. With Lazio two goals ahead, Cagliari fought their way back into the game and had their opponents on the ropes for periods of the second half, getting a goal back and looking occasionally dangerous in their ultimately fruitless search for an equaliser.
Lazio started brightest, with Hernanes predictably pulling the strings and Mauro Zarate looking lively, but it was the Rossoblu who should have taken the lead inside ten minutes. A deep cross was played back across goal and Fernando Muslera was unable to gather the ball, allowing Alessandro Matri a golden opportunity to lift the ball above him into the empty net. Matri’s effort somehow squeezed wide and the chance went begging.
That early pressure eased Cagliari into the match but Lazio continued to control the tempo, although their final ball was lacking in quality during the opening exchanges. No such problem in the 21st minute. Hernanes struck a 40-yard free kick powerfully into the wall, his second attempt was then controlled by Stefano Mauri on the penalty spot and Sergio Floccari strode onto the loose ball to drive the hosts into the lead. Zarate was just too short to take advantage of Mauri’s pass a couple of minutes later.
The game lulled somewhat in the middle of the first half and was played largely in midfield as Cagliari were kept under control by the Lazio defence and Reja’s side found themselves unable to carve out opportunities with any frequency. Hernanes almost capped a superb first half performance with five minutes left when he cruised around the outside of the Cagliari defence, with the referee playing advantage after a foul on Mauri, and dragged his shot just wide of the far post.
Matri came close to equalising for the Rossoblu, jumping head and shoulders above his markers from a deep Cossu free kick and heading the last effort of the half just wide. Despite Lazio’s superior quality, Cagliari went in at the break with the match still within their grasp thanks to an industrious performance, probing well when the chance presented itself.
Lazio’s second was a wonderfully freakish goal less than ten minutes into the second half. Neat football from Lazio resulted in Floccari’s pass across the six yard box being missed by Hernanes and ricocheting home off captain Stefano Mauri.
Cagliari soon got themselves back into the game, with Alessandro Matri getting the reward for putting in a decent shift up front by heading past Muslera from Cossu’s inviting cross just before the hour mark. Floccari’s strength afforded him a chance to restore Lazio’s two goal lead a couple of minutes later but he ballooned his shot over the crossbar from the edge of the area. Matri then headed just over for Cagliari.
Their goal had sparked Bisoli’s team into action and suddenly they looked the most likely to score. A 64th minute attack had them appealing for a penalty, but it would have been a very harsh decision for it to be given. Alex Pinardi controlled, turned and fired wide from a corner as Cagliari went hunting for an equaliser. Matri’s effort with 20 minutes to go had Muslera at full stretch as Cagliari piled on the pressure, relieved only intermittently by progressive but selfish and ineffective runs by Zarate.
The Argentine’s substitution for Tommaso Rocchi coincided with an up-turn in the Biancocelesti’s fortunes, and the big striker played a part in creating a chance for Floccari which had to be smartly blocked by the Cagliari defence in the 80th minute. He had a chance himself in the 83rd after being played through by Mauri, but Cagliari’s goalkeeper Michael Agazzi and defender Davide Astori dealt well with a very threatening situation.
Lazio held on well and Cagliari’s late chances were limited. Three more points in the bank for Edy Reja, and another week at the top of the table for his team, who are beginning to look like a real contender.